If Charles Whitman had faced prosecution, how would you, as a forensic psychology professional expert witness for either the prosecution or the defense, have assessed his personality, what are the risk/protective factors in his background that might relate to the mass shooting he committed, and if you are a witness for the defense, how would you have assisted the defense? If you are working for the prosecution, how would you have assisted that side?

Charles Joseph Whitman (1941-1966) was an ex-Marine and student at the University of Texas at Austin who shot 15 people and wounded at least 33 others from the UT Tower observation deck on August 1, 1966.

Whitman was born in Lake Worth, Florida in 1941 to Charles Adolphus, a financially successful plumbing contractor, and Margaret Hodges Whitman. Whitman was the eldest of three siblings. His two brothers were Patrick, born 1945, and John Michael, known as "Johnnie Mike", born 1949. He grew up in an authoritarian household in which his father was emotionally and physically abusive to his wife and children. As a boy, Whitman was involved with the Boy Scouts, playing piano, and hunting. At age 12, he received national recognition by becoming the youngest Eagle Scout in the world. He had a large paper route in the Lake Worth, FL, area delivering the Miami Herald. Although he was described as intelligent (with an IQ of 138.9) and had a history of good grades in school, during his final two years of high school his grades dropped. He graduated from Saint Ann High School in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1959.

On July 6, 1959, Whitman joined the United States Marine Corps. Beginning in December, 1959 he was stationed at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. He earned a Good Conduct Medal, a Sharpshooter's Badge, and the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal. While at Guantanamo Bay, he was awarded a Naval Enlisted Science Education Program (NESEP) scholarship, which was designed to increase the number of scientists in the U.S. military. As part of this program, Whitman was sent to The University of Texas to begin in the Fall 1961 semester. During this time at UT, he lived at the Goodall-Wooten Dormitory and served as a dorm counselor. It was also during this period that Whitman and two other students were fined for illegally poaching a deer and butchering it in his dormitory bathroom.

Whitman earned poor grades during his first semester. In November, 1961, friend and fellow UT student, Francis Shuck, Jr. introduced Whitman to his future wife, student Kathleen "Kathy" Leissner. On August 17, 1962, the couple were married at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Needville, Texas, Kathy's hometown. Although his grades improved after marriage, they still were not up to the standards set by the NESEP. The Marines withdrew his scholarship in the Spring 1963 semester. Whitman responded by dropping out of UT in February, 1963, and was returned to active duty with the Marines with a promotion to Lance Corporal. Kathy graduated from UT and stayed in Austin to teach at Lanier High School.

In November, 1963, he was court martialed and found guilty of gambling, usury, and the unauthorized possession of a non-military pistol. He was busted to the rank of Private and served 90 days of hard labor. In December, 1964, he was honorably discharged from the Marines and returned to Austin. In January, 1965, he re-enrolled in UT and maintained a respectable grade point average. During this time, he was employed in a number of jobs and served as a scoutmaster while still receiving financial support from his father.

In February, 1966, his parents' ongoing marital problems came to a head. Whitman drove to Lake Worth, Florida in March to help move his mother to her own apartment in Austin. He was so concerned that his father would resort to violence while his mother was moving that he requested a local policeman stand guard while she moved her belongings out of the home. In April, 1966, she accepted a position in Austin as cashier at Wyatt's Cafeteria. Over the next few months, Whitman's father repeatedly phoned his wife and son pleading for his wife to return home. On July 30, two days before the shootings, the elder Whitman withdrew his financial support from his wife and son.

During 1965, Whitman visited several different doctors at the University of Texas Health Center for headaches. In March, 1966, he sought medical treatment there once again, complaining of mental health issues. He obtained a prescription for Valium and requested a psychiatric referral from general practitioner Dr. Jan D. Cochrum. He was referred to psychiatrist Dr. Maurice Dean Heatly. During his only session with Dr. Heatly, Whitman, whom Heatly later described as "oozing with hostility", expressed concern and fear about "overwhelming periods of hostility with a very minimum of provocation" and conveyed his reoccurring fantasy of, "...going up on the Tower with a deer rifle and shooting people". Whitman also spoke at length about his childhood, his father and his distress over his parent's recent separation. Heatly concluded that Whitman was not dangerous enough for involuntary commitment but asked him to return one week later and/or call anytime that he needed help. Whitman never returned for treatment.

On August 1, 1966 Whitman first killed his mother, Elizabeth Whitman, at 12:30 a.m. at her residence in the Penthouse Apartments at 1212 Guadalupe Street. Later, he killed his wife, Kathleen, at 3:00 a.m at their residence on 906 Jewell Street. Around 11:30 a.m. he ascended to the top of the Tower observation deck at The University of Texas at Austin and began shooting at people on campus below. The shooting spree lasted approximately 95 minutes before he was killed by police. Two Austin Police Department officers, Houston McCoy and Ramiro Martinez, both claimed to have shot fatal rounds at the sniper. At the time, sixteen people were killed (including his wife and mother, APD officer Billy Speed, and an unborn baby) and at least 33 people were injured. In November, 2001, David Gunby died in Fort Worth, Texas, from gunshot wounds he received from Whitman in 1966. Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the Tarrant County medical examiner, ruled Gunby's death a homicide, bringing the total dead to 17.

Whitman's body was embalmed 24 hours before an autopsy was conducted and conclusive toxicology tests could be performed for evidence of drugs. Dexedrine, a potent amphetamine/stimulant widely used in the military to combat fatigue, was found on his body at the time of death and was a drug that Whitman ingested on a regular basis for all-night study sessions. The initial autopsy, performed by Dr. Coleman de Chenar, a Travis County medical examiner, revealed the presence of a brain tumor. De Chenar concluded that the tumor did not affect Whitman's behavior. Shortly after the shootings, Texas Governor John Connally assembled a team of medical experts, known as the Connally Commission, to investigate whether the tumor could have had an impact on Whitman's behavior. It found that the tumor had features suggesting a glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, malignant brain cancer. The Commission concluded that the relationship between the brain tumor and his actions were unclear, but conceded that the mass could have influenced his ability to control his actions and emotions.